impasse
over how to advance the ordination of women to the episcopate whilst providing
for conscientious opponents have been denied today in a statement by Sir Richard
Fiddall, Secretary General of the General Synod.

‘The advice of the Guildford Group, set up by the House to
consider the options,’ said Sir Richard, ‘was not well received. They came up
with a notion they called TEA (Transferred Episcopal Arrangements). Under TEA,
‘C’ parishes throughout the Church of England were to have been transferred to
the Diocese of Canterbury, under the direct authority of the Archbishop of
Canterbury, who would have agreed not to consecrate women.’

‘It was WATCH who helpfully pointed out, in a submission to
the House, the serious disadvantages of this arrangement. It would have given
formal recognition to the doctrine of ‘taint’ which WATCH has been eager to
refute (and Forward in Faith as eager to deny). The Archbishop of Canterbury,
though his hands would be clean with respect to women bishops, would still be
consecrating men who would themselves consecrate women. The idea that touching
women in order to make them bishops somehow ‘contaminated’ him was for WATCH a
doctrine too far.’

‘The recent announcement of the episcopal ordination of Sandy
Millar in Uganda to serve in the Diocese of London, however, has opened up a
more practical possibility. Instead of transferring dissentient parishes to
another English diocese or metropolitan, it is now agreed that they should be
transferred to another province of the Communion altogether; one which does not
ordain women. The House was clear that present difficulties meant that Nigeria
was ruled out. They settled, with the generous support of Archbishop Agong, on
the Province of Papua New Guinea.’

‘In this new scheme, the present PEVs would become assistant
bishops of the Diocese of Aipo Rongo, licensed by Rowan to function in England,
and appointed by all forty-three diocesans as assistant bishops, so that the
fullest contact with the Church of England would be maintained. The new scheme
is to be known as TPA (Transferred Provincial Arrangements) – or Strong TEA, as
some are already calling it.’